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Welcome
to the Sioux Falls Sewer Class Action Website
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IMPORTANT
DATES & DEADLINES
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Class
Period:
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May 29,
2004 and June 16, 2004
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Exclusion
Date:
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Postmarked no later than January 4, 2008
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If you suffered
damage to your home, business, or other real or
personal property resulting from sanitary or
storm sewer system backups or surface water flow
in May or June of 2004, you may be eligible for
potential reimbursement.
Notice of Pendency of Class Action and of
Rights of Class Members:
By order dated September 27, 2007, the Circuit
Court in Minnehaha County has certified a class
action lawsuit against the City of Sioux Falls
for claims for property damage in connection
with sanitary sewer backups and surface water
flow into homes and buildings suffered in
connection with storms and flooding that
occurred in Sioux Falls on
May 29, 2004 and June
16, 2004 (the “water events”). The class
action is entitled Arneson et al. v. City of
Sioux Falls, Civil No, 05-1713 and is venued
in Minnehaha County, Second Judicial Circuit.
This class action affects anyone who may have
suffered damage to a home, business, or other
real or personal property located within the
geographic area of Sioux Falls bordered by 57th
Street to the South, Southeastern Drive to the
East, Kiwanis Avenue to the West, and Russell
Street to the North (the “designated geographic
area”) from one or both water events in May or
June of 2004. Any property owner who suffered
any such damage within this designated
geographic area is considered to be a class
member.
The lawsuit alleges violations of state law and
contends that the City of Sioux Falls was
negligent and is otherwise legally liable for
failing to properly design, construct,
condition, upgrade, inspect, repair, and
maintain the City’s sanitary and storm sewer
lines and systems, resulting in the discharging
of water and raw human waste into homes,
businesses, and other buildings in the
designated geographic area.
The City denies these allegations and has
denied any liability to the plaintiffs or any
member of the class.
The attorneys representing the plaintiffs in
this class action are
Steven M.
Johnson of
Johnson,
Heidepriem, Janklow, Abdallah & Johnson LLP
and John
R. Hughes of
Hughes
Law Offices in
Sioux Falls.
What are your
options?
1.
Class members NOT wanting to
participate in the class action:
If you
owned property in the designated geographic area
in May or June of 2004, but do
not want to participate as a plaintiff and do
not
want to be legally bound by the result obtained
in this class action, then you must exclude
yourself by
January 4, 2008. If you do not request
exclusion by this date, then you will not be
able to bring or continue to maintain your own
individual action against the City for the same
claims asserted in this class action. Any
property owners that do not exclude themselves
from the class action will be forever bound by
the result.
To
exclude yourself from this class action, you
must complete and sign the enclosed form,
indicating that you want to be excluded, and
return it to
Hughes
Law Offices at the address below. Your
response must be received or postmarked by January 4, 2008.
2.
Class members wanting to participate:
If you
did suffer property damage to your home, business, or other
real or personal property located in the
designated geographic area in May or June of
2004 as the result of the water events described
above, and
you want to participate and be bound by the
result obtained in this class action, then you
need to complete and sign the enclosed form,
indicating that you want to be included, and
return it to
Hughes
Law Offices at the address below.
Hughes Law Offices will contact you and provide you with
the additional forms necessary to document your
property losses and damage.
3.
Class members who did not suffer damages:
If you
did
not suffer any property damage to your home, business, or
other real or personal property located in the
designated geographic area in May or June of
2004 as the result of the water events described
above, then you do not have to do anything. Keep
in mind, however, that unless you affirmatively
exclude yourself from the class by returning the
form by the deadline listed above, you will be
bound by the result obtained in the class action
and forever barred from bringing or maintaining
your own action against the City for the same
claims asserted in this class action.
All
members of the class who do not request
exclusion and who are able to document or
otherwise establish that they suffered property
damage resulting from the water events described
above by returning the enclosed form to
Hughes Law Offices will be entitled to share in the
benefits of any judgment favorable to the class
or in any settlement of their claims, after
deduction of attorney’s fees and disbursements.
Any settlement of this class action must be
approved by the Court.
Only
those members of the class who are able to
document or otherwise establish that they
suffered property damage as described above and
who contact
Hughes Law Offices will be eligible to receive potential
reimbursement if the class action is successful.
Any
member of the class who does not request
exclusion will be bound by any judgment or other
order unfavorable to the class, regardless of
whether they have provided information regarding
property damage or not.
To exclude yourself from the class, or to
participate and obtain the forms necessary to
document your property damage, please write to
the following address:
Sewer System Class
Action
c/o
Hughes Law Offices
431 N. Phillips Ave
#330
Sioux Falls,
SD 57104
If you have any questions regarding this class
action or the legal effect of this notice, you
may contact Jonathan
Krueger of
Hughes
Law Offices at
(605)
339-3939. For additional information, you
may also view the Sioux Falls Sewer System Class
Action lawsuit website at
www.hughesatlaw.com/classaction.
RESPONSE TO NOTICE FOR SEWER SYSTEM
CLASS
ACTION
Name:
_______________________________________________________________________________
Address:
___________________________________________________________________________
PHONE:
______________________________________________________________________________
If applicable to you, please check ONE of the boxes below, sign,
date, and return this form to Sewer
System Class Action c/o Hughes Law Offices, 431 N. Phillips Ave. #330,
Sioux Falls, SD 57104 by January 4, 2008.
Exclude me from the class.
I have reviewed the legal notice and
want to be excluded from the class action
lawsuit.
Include
me in the class.
I have suffered damage to my home,
business, or other real or personal property as
a result of the water events in May or June of
2004 as described in the legal notice and would
like to participate in the class action.
SIGNATURE:___________________________________
Date:_________________
NOTE:
If you did not suffer any damage to your home,
business, or other real or personal property in
the water events in May or June of 2004, you do
not need to return this form. However,
unless you affirmatively exclude yourself from
the class by returning the form by the deadline
listed above, you will be bound by the result
obtained in the class action and forever barred
from bringing or maintaining your own action
against the City for the same claims asserted in
this class action.
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Class Counsel Contact Information
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John R. Hughes, Esq.
Jonathan
D. Krueger, Esq.
Hughes Law Offices
431 North Phillips
Avenue, Suite 330
Sioux Falls,
South Dakota
57104
Telephone: (605)
339-3939
E-mail:
jonathan@hughesatlaw.com
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Johnson, Heidepriem, Janklow, Abdallah & Johnson, LLP – Website: www.jhjaj.com
Hughes Law Offices – Website: www.hughesatlaw.com
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